However, the Paris Saint-Germain star was keen to emphasise that Argentina still possess great quality, singling out Paulo Dybala as an example of the talent in their ranks.

"For those who love football, having Messi out of a game like this is bad. But for us it's good," Neymar told a pre-match news conference. "We never underestimate Argentina's quality, the players they have in their squad.

"Argentina have Dybala, who is a player that I really like, so we have to be switched on.

"It's a very difficult game. We will have to do our job and it's always good to play them. There are no favourites."